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Freightliner Keeps RCR on Truckin

NASCAR visits 23 states across the United States and Canada, leaving some to ask, how do teams get to the track each week"

RCR/HHP

Each weekend, NASCAR fans watch the best drivers in the world compete for victory at race tracks around the United States. Across all three top-touring series, NASCAR holds a total of 93 races during a season that spans from February to November. NASCAR visits 23 states across the United States and Canada, leaving some to ask, how do teams get to the track each week?

At Richard Childress Racing, each team employs countless crew members to ensure their Chevrolet’s are able to win, but getting to and from the race track is a different story. On any given weekend, RCR has up to eight trucks on the road transporting team equipment to and from the racetrack, Freightliner trucks that help make the job of a hauler driver easier during the 38-week season.

In a partnership with RCR that has lasted for years, Freightliner continues to pave the way in transporter comfort and service needs on the road. With the one goal in mind of getting to and from the race track each weekend, Freightliner assists in making sure each cab is in top shape. RCR utilizes 2009 Corondo cabs that are specifically built for the race team. Each cab on the Sprint Cup Series side features an extended cab, longer than a commercial cab, to maximize driver comfort. Features include a bed, small kitchenette and shower to make life on the road feel like a home-away-from-home. “It’s like a little condominium, with the big sleeper and the shower,” said Dennis Gammson, driver of the No. 29 Sprint Cup Series hauler “The comfort is incredible. The truck itself is also really nice. It’s quiet, drives really smoothly and has a lot of power.”

With a tight schedule, there is no time for anything to go wrong on the road. Most recently at Daytona International Speedway, the No. 2 Nationwide Series hauler driver Barry Sheppard (an 18-plus year veteran in the sport) was side swiped by another transporter entering the track. The result was a destroyed headlight. Sheppard contacted Freightliner, who in turn, had a headlight on a plane headed to the track the next day. By race day the cab was fitted with a brand new light. Normally, an incident like this would set travel schedule back, but with Freightliner’s assistance, Sheppard was able to make the trip back to Welcome, N.C., following the race and stay on schedule for the quick turnaround for the series’ next race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Whether RCR’s haulers are traveling up the highway to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, or across the United States to Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, the durability of the eight Freightliner machines on the road each weekend leaves little for crews to worry about. What may seem like a small piece of equipment to the overall weekend, are crucial to the success of hauler drivers and teams on race day. With Freightliner’s help and service many teams in the NASCAR industry are able to stay on schedule running coast-to-coast week in and week out.